Infections in surgical departments of obstetrics and gynecology. Study of a 3-month period
Thorup, J.; Jepsen, O.B.; Birch, C.; Kvist, E.
Ugeskrift for Laeger 143(29): 1815-1819
1981
ISSN/ISBN: 0041-5782 PMID: 7292767 Document Number: 169776
By means of daily standardized bed-side registration for a period of 3 mo. it was demonstrated that 4.5% of all the bed-days during the period were occupied by patients with nosocomial infections (NI) which occurred in 3.4% of the patients. Urinary infections comprised 1/3, postoperative wound infections 1/4 and pneumonia and skin infections were each responsible for 1/5 of the nosocomial infections. The skin infections constituted a special source of infection. Nosocomial pneumonia occurred practically exclusively among patients who died during the period of investigation or who required intensive therapy. Of the 105 cases of NI, 95% were investigated bacteriologically. Escherichia coli comprised 27%, other gram-negative bacteria 13% and Staphylococcus aureus 20% of all the cultured organisms from NI. Epidemiological connections were evident only between the bacteria encountered in a single minor outbreak caused by gentamicin-resistant staphylococci. The duration of the stay in hospital was prolonged by 14 days, on an average, in patients with NI; this appeared to affect primarily patients who had already undergone prolonged illnesses. The infections constituted more of a problem for the bed capacity of the surgical department than for the gynecological-obstetric department. The relevance of these results was discussed.